The Verge said in a blog entry that Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson sought legal action against a fracking-related project proposal to be built in his Texas neighborhood. The Internet news site was tipped off by a Wall Street Journal report, which said that Tillerson had joined a lawsuit that would impede the construction of a 160-foot water tower, which would be used to back fracking project within the Bartonville area.
Tillerson's latest action was odd considering the fact that he is an outspoken supporter of the process used to extract oil and natural from shale-rock formations. However, his representatives clarified that the reason that Tillerson joined the lawsuit, which was filed in 2012, was the potential nuisance it could attract in the idyllic neighborhood, which would then cost a drop on property values in the area.
Telling Reuters, Exxon Mobil spokesman Alan Jeffers said, "Mr. Tillerson does not object to the tower for its potential use for water and gas operations for fracking."
Jeffers also noted that Tillerson's home is already near the area where oil and gas operations are ongoing.
The Verge said that the fracking process would typically damage landscape considering that it involves the injection of a high-pressure concoction of water, sand, and chemicals. Critics of the drilling practice had condoned the process and said its effects are dangerous on public health and the environment.
Aside from Tillerson, the lead complainants in the lawsuit are former US House Majority Leader Dick Armey and his wife, whose 83-acre ranch is near the area where the project is proposed to be built, said The Verge.
The attorney representing the plaintiffs, Michael Whitten, also distinguished Tillerson's goal in the lawsuit. He told Fort Worth Star-Ledger, "I should have distinguished Mr. Tillerson's position from the others. He thinks the tower devalues his property. Our objective is to get this thing torn down."
